Survivorship as it relates to cancer care extends beyond the oncologist’s office. In recognition of the vital teamwork needed across specialties to ensure the best care possible, a new symposium has been created to enhance collaboration between primary care physicians and oncology care providers, as well as to highlight relevant and timely topics related to survivorship.

The inaugural conference—Cancer Survivorship Symposium: Advancing Care and Research, A Primary Care and Oncology Collaboration—will take place January 15–16, 2016, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. The Symposium aims to help attendees better monitor late- and long-term effects and comorbidities, provide surveillance for recurrence and secondary malignancies, address psychosocial aspects of survivorship, improve communication and care coordination, and understand current research in survivorship care.

The need for survivorship care

Thanks to advances in research and care, more and more people are surviving a cancer diagnosis. Survivorship trends are improving across most cancer types, with more than 18.9 million people expected to be a part of the U.S. cancer survivor population by 2024.¹

Yet survivorship care has its own set of challenges, according to Kevin C. Oeffinger, MD, Director of the Cancer Survivorship Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Chair of the Symposium’s Steering Committee. “In 2005, the Institute of Medicine [IOM] released a hallmark report on cancer survivorship, subtitled ‘Lost in Transition.’ Critical problems identified by the IOM that have led to fractured care experienced by many cancer survivors include the lack of communication between oncology specialists and primary care physicians and the haphazard way in which many survivors are transitioned,” he said.

Survivorship care as a collaborative effort

The creation of this Symposium reinforces ASCO’s commitment to cancer survivorship and is the next step in expanding its armamentarium of muchneeded survivorship tools for oncologists, including clinical guidelines, a survivorship care plan template, and survivor resources on Cancer.Net.

This is also the first time ASCO, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians have collaborated on a project. The involvement of all three organizations demonstrates the enthusiasm for improved collaboration across specialties.

“ASCO, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians are championing an effort to change cancer survivorship care and will co-lead this annual scientific and educational symposium,” said Dr. Oeffinger. “I anticipate that this monumental effort will serve as a catalyst to bring these worlds together and ultimately improve the health care of cancer survivors.”

To learn more about the Cancer Survivorship Symposium: Advancing Care and Research, visit survivorsym.org.

Reference

1. 2014 Cancer Survivorship Statistics—10 Key Facts. American Cancer Society website. cancer.org/research/acsresearchupdates/more/2014-cancer-survivorship-statistics-10-key-facts.

Adapted from 2015 ASCO Daily News coverage.